Tuesday, November 9, 2010

A sexy pear story.

Alicia, who works in my store's pharmacy, picked today's recipe. It's from Fine Cooking magazine, and the original can be found here.



The gorgonzola seemed impossible when I found out that Sunergia is no longer available at the Wedge. I've never seen it anywhere else, so I made do with a recipe I found online, but ended up changing it a lot. I also was unlucky finding red anjou pears, so I settled for a couple of lovely Boscs, which were about to whither away if I didn't get on the stick.

pears 002

As for the pancetta...I figured why ruin this dish with some analog? It totally worked in the potato soup, but not here.

Sexy Bleu Hazelnut Stuffed Pears
Serves 2 (or 4 as an appetizer)

2 pears, halved lengthwise and cored
2 tbsp melted Earth Balance
2 tsp Just Like Honey
pinch salt
1/4 cup Daiya mozzarella, or crumbled superfirm tofu
1 tbsp Vegenaise
2 tsp white miso
splash of light vinegar
1/4 cup + 2 tsp chopped toasted hazelnuts
1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1-2 tbsp Champagne vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups of baby greens

Heat oven to 375°.
Mix the Daiya (or tofu) with the Vegenaise, miso, and a little vinegar. Salt to taste. Set aside.

Mix one teaspoon of the "honey" into the melted Earth Balance. Brush on the cut sides of the pears. Put cut side up in a pan, and bake for about 15 minutes.

Mix the cheese mixture with the nuts and thyme. Fill cavities in the pears with the mixture, and top with the 2 teaspoons of chopped nuts. Bake for 5 minutes until it looks melty, and then place it under the broiler for about 2 minutes.

Whisk the vinegar, mustard, pepper, and olive oil together. Toss with the baby greens, and divide to two plates. Top each with a pear half. Salt and pepper, enjoy.

pears 008

I would like to give a huge shout to Dallas Rising of Animal Rights Coalition for totally owning some redneck donkey dealer on the news tonight. *chest bump* As soon as it's available online, I'll post it.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It looks awesome! Good job on this!

Bianca said...

Yum! Very fancy. Impressive.